Champions crowned after intense week of competition at 20&U Summer Slam

After an intense week of competition, NSW Blues have taken out both the 20&U men’s and women’s Summer Slam titles.

It all came to a close today at Valley Pool, and with medals on the line, all teams put on a showcase of water polo.

20&U MEN’S BRONZE - QLD MAROON 20 d VICTORIA 8

The first medal match of the day saw Queensland Maroon up against Victoria in a battle for bronze.

Having met in the round games, where Queensland Maroon claimed a seven goal victory, both teams were familiar with the opposition heading in.

But it was Queensland who got away early, and stamped their authority to claim a 12 goal victory.

Integral for the Queensland attack was Marcus Berehulak, who was one of three men on the home side to score two goals in the bronze medal match.

Berehulak said his side were stoked to be walking away with a bronze medal.

“It’s an amazing feeling and a good way for us to end the tournament,” Berehulak said.

“We’ve got a good bunch of boys, and we really came together then, and worked well together to get the win.

“Our goal was to just play our game, and that’s exactly how it ended up. Every player played their role and we couldn’t ask for a better result.

“You never know what to expect in a bronze medal match, so anything could have been possible, but we’re just glad we got the win,” he said.

With Summer Slam now wrapped up, Berehulak turns his focus to the Australian Waterpolo League where he will line up for Queensland Thunder.

“This has been a great warm up for some of the boys who are getting ready to play in the Australian Waterpolo League in a couple of weeks time,” Berehulak said.

“We’re excited to head to Adelaide, and for the Sydney road trip after that as well.

“They’re going to be really tough games, so it was great to have this as a warm up for it (AWL),” he said.

20&U WOMEN’S BRONZE - YOUTH BARBARIANS GREEN 12 d YOUTH BARBARIANS GOLD 7

In the second match of the day, the two Youth Barbarians teams went head to head to decide the 20&U women’s bronze medal.

Following the National Age Group Program camps last week, the Youth Barbarians teams were assembled, made up for members of the Australian Youth squads.

In the end, it was Youth Barbarians Green who got the upper hand, claiming a five goal win.

Youth Barbarians Green representative Anneliese Pamp said she is pleased with the result after a tough 10 days of competition and camp.

“It was a very tough battle against the other Australian team, we have very similar tactics so we didn’t know how that was going to go,” Pamp said.

“But we pulled through, got a bit of a lead and then put our foot on the pedal and that was really great.

“We just happened to have some good game control at the end to make sure they didn’t make a comeback.

“Lots of us are very fatigued, but we’ve really focused on our recovery so that we didn’t feel the full extent.

“But I know all the girls are looking forward to sleeping in their own bed and having a bit of a rest,” she said.

Pamp said the highlight of being in camp and playing in the Youth Barbarians team is being surrounded by like minded people.

“It’s been so enjoyable playing with different girls, and girls that have the same drive to win and be competitive,” Pamp said.

“And not just winning all the time, but getting our technical plays down pat, and improving our skills.

“We all fight for each other and it’s so great being in an environment where everyone has the same passion.

20&U WOMEN’S GOLD - QLD MAROON 6 def by NSW BLUES 8

It was a State of Origin style match in the women’s gold medal match, with Queensland Maroon and NSW Blues going head to head.

There was nothing between the teams for the first three quarters, with some impressive defence and strong attacks seeing the team go goal for goal.

It was in the last quarter that the NSW Blues rose to the occasion, pushing it out to a two goal ball game and able to hold onto their lead to claim the gold medal.

NSW Blues’ Macy Hansford said she could not be more proud of her team for their efforts when it mattered most.

“Coming away with the gold is what we came here to do, and it’s such a great feeling to be able to achieve that,” Hansford said.

“We knew Queensland were always going to put up a tough fight, they’ve got a bunch of great players and it’s always good coming up against them.

“We were looking for a tough game today and they really brought it to us,” she said.

Hansford said the victory was extra special for the team, as it was head coach Mel Rippon’s birthday.

“It’s Mel’s birthday today, so we really wanted to go out there and do it for her today,” Hansford said.

“Mel and Bec (Rippon) are such great coaches and we really love having them pool side for us.

“They’re the dynamic duo of New South Wales water polo, and we’re really happy we were able to get that win for them,” she said.

20&U MEN’S GOLD - NSW BLUES 14 d YOUTH BARBARIANS 9

In the final game of the 2022 Summer Slam, the atmosphere was electric as NSW Blues prepared to take on the Youth Barbarians to decide who would claim the champion title.

NSW Blues headed into the game as favourites, having won every game during the round robin.

But the Youth Barbarians were not to be discounted, and managed to give NSW Blues a run for their money.

In the end, the experienced NSW Blues ran away with it, and held onto their five goal lead to win gold.

NSW Blues’ Andrej Grgurevic said that winning gold was the ultimate goal for his team.

“We’ve been training for a while now, and haven’t played in many tournaments, so to finally have one back and win the gold is awesome,” Grgurevic said.

“We were expecting a hard game, they got really pumped up to play us and some of our team had younger brothers in the Barbarians.

“It was always going to be a tough game, but we knew if we stuck to our game plan and kept swimming and working hard, their defence would eventually crack.

“After such a tough week, walking away with a gold medal - I’m not quite sure what else you could ask for.

“For some boys this was their last junior tournament, so we’re all really happy we were able to get the win today,” he said.

Want to watch the replays of all the Summer Slam action this week? CLICK HERE